Franklin County School System
“Preparing Students for the Challenges of Tomorrow”
Dr. Ruth O’Dell(706) 384-4554
Superintendent Fax (706) 384-7472
ESEA FLEXIBILITY WAIVER SCHOOL DESIGNATION STATUS LETTER
2013-2014
August 17, 2013
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):
On February 9, 2012 the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) received waivers from ten requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, as amended by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) of 2001.ESEA/NCLB requires that parents or guardians who have children attending a Title I school be notified of the school’s academic achievement as well as the school’s designation under Georgia’s ESEA Flexibility Waiver. This letter is intended to provide additional information concerning the options available to your child under Georgia’s ESEA Flexibility Waiver and to help you understand what the waiver means for you and your child. Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the GaDOE transitioned from needs improvement (NI) school designations based on adequate yearly progress (AYP) reports to Reward, Priority, Focus and Alert Schools designations based on ESEAFlexibility Waiver formulas. Title I schools implement specific programs and interventions based on Reward, Priority, Focus, and Alert Schools status. In addition, the GaDOE ESEA Flexibility Waiver outlines Georgia’s new Single Statewide Accountability System, the College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI). The CCRPI serves as a comprehensive report card for all schools in Georgia. The state system gives parents, students, teachers and families a more complete and comprehensive picture of where a school or district is meeting performance expectations and where it is not. The Georgia ESEA Flexibility Waiver also eliminated Supplemental Educational Services (SES) and Public School Choice (Choice). However, schools designated as Priority or Focus, are required to implement and develop Flexible Learning Programs (FLP). Alert Schools were given the option to implement and develop a FLP if they chose to do so. The Georgia ESEA Flexibility Waiver provides greater flexibility in designing a FLP tailored to the needs of the schools. As a result, these identified schools have the capacity to serve more students in need of additional academic support. Priority Schools and Focus Schools were identified with 2011 test data and will be served with support interventions through July of 2015. Alert and Reward Schools will be identified annually.
• Reward Schools replace the Title I Distinguished Schools and Distinguished Districts designations. They are identified annually and may be classified as either a Highest-Performing School or a High-Progress School. Schools designated as a Highest-Performing Reward School are in the top 5% of Title I schools and either have the highest performance for all students over three years or is a high school with the highest graduation rates in Georgia. Schools designated as a High-Progress Reward School the school must be in the top 10% of Title I schools and either have the highest progress in performance for all students over three years or is a high school that is making the most progress in increasing graduation rates.
• Priority Schools are Title I schools that are among the lowest 5% of Title I schools in the state based on the achievement of the All Students group in terms of proficiency on the statewide assessments and has demonstrated a lack of progress on those assessments over a number of years in the All Students group; are a Title I-participating or Title I-eligible high school with a graduation rate less than 60 percent over a number of years; or a Tier I or Tier II school under the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program that is using SIG funds to implement a school intervention models.
• Focus Schools are 10% of Title I schools that have the largest within-school gaps between the highest-achieving subgroup or subgroups and the lowest-achieving subgroup or subgroups or, at the high school level, have the largest within-school gaps in graduation rates (within-school-gaps Focus School). They can also be Title I high schools with a graduation rate less than 60 percent over a number of years that are not identified as a Priority School (low-graduation-rate Focus School).
• Alert Schools consist of Title I and Non-Title I schools based on nine ESEA/NCLB subgroups. They fall into one of the three following categories using ESEA disaggregated subgroups or subject performance on both statewide assessments and graduation rate: Graduation Alert, Subgroup Alert or Subject Alert.
Focus School (non-Title I school)
Franklin County High School
Reward School
Carnesville Elementary
*FCSS does not have any Title I Alert Schools at this time.
*All schools except Franklin County High School are Title I schools.
You will be receiving more information from your child’s school regarding the school’s academic achievement and what support interventions will be taking place throughout the year if your child’s school has been named as a Priority, Focus, or Alert School.
If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact Lynn Ginn, Title I Program Coordinator at (706)- 384-4554 ext. 11339
Sincerely,
Mrs. Lynn Ginn
Student Services Director
Franklin County Schools
280 Busha Road Carnesville, Georgia 30521
The Franklin County School System does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, religion, age, national origin, marital status, or handicapping conditions.